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As shoppers continue to spend during the festive season, a study undertaken by YouGov and ACI Worldwide across India’s major cities reveals that more people are preferring digital modes of payment for example, UPI or eWallet/digital wallets, over conventional means like cash.
The survey was conducted online between October 12 and 15 and consisted of 1,001 adults across Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad.
One of the major findings of the survey was that 41% of the respondents said that they preferred to use digital modes of payment over other modes of payment. This is ahead of 26% of the respondents who felt comfortable using cash and the 23% who used debit and credit cards for their spends during the festive season.
Increased use digital modes of payment among females, people aged above 45
The study also revealed that respondents above the age of 45 as well as female respondents also chose to use digital modes of payments over the conventional modes of payment. At least 34% of the respondents from the age group over 45 also said that they end up using digital modes of payment more than 2-3 times per week. Women respondents also reported that they used digital modes of payments more than once in one day.
It also showed that digital transactions remained the preferred mode of payment across several categories of spends. At least 57% of the respondents preferred to buy essential items and groceries by paying digitally. 59% of the Female respondents also preferred to pay digitally for apparel, fashion accessories, household appliances as well as essential items. More than 45% of female respondents chose to pay digitally across these categories of spends. More than 60% of respondents above the age of 45 also chose to pay digitally.
Pandemic continues push people towards digital payments
The survey showed that pandemic continues to bring changes in consumer behavior. At least 76% of the respondents feel that it is easier to use digital payments compared to last year indicating that more stores are also adopting cashless means of payments. While 75% of the respondents also said that they are more likely to use digital payments due to its increased usage. Online shopping has become a preferable option for consumers as 70% of respondents feel that they are more dependent on online shopping but 60% of these respondents also feel they may head out to stores if Covid-19 preventative measures are followed properly.
Digital modes offer better insights but some concerns remain
Respondents also highlighted that using digital modes of payment also allowed them to have a better understanding of what they were spending on and how much they were spending. Almost 70% of respondents felt that using digital payments offered them better insights into their spending habits. They also felt that rewards and incentives made digital payments more attractive compared to conventional means of payments.
However, failed transactions were a cause of concern among 41% respondents in the survey while 30% of them also highlighted poor internet connectivity as a contributing factor to the concerns surrounding digital payments. Some respondents also pointed out that data privacy and fraud were areas that concerned them when it came to digital transactions.
Despite all that, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) latest data showed Unified Payments Interface (UPI) generated 3.65 billion transactions worth ₹6.54 trillion in September setting a new record in terms of transaction value as well as volume.
